Nitrogen is used extensively in many industrial processes for blanketing storage vessels, reactors and the like, as an inerting atmosphere, for drying, and for other uses. Typically the nitrogen is then vented to the atmosphere. Sometimes, when the used nitrogen has picked up a significant amount of impurities such as volatile organic compounds, the nitrogen is processed to recover the impurities for economic and/or environmental reasons.
Nitrogen is generally produced by separating air into its constituent parts. When an industrial user has a new or expanded nitrogen requirement, it may not be economically attractive to construct a new air separation plant or storage facility, or expand the capacity of the existing air separation plant or storage facility, to address the new or expanded requirement. In such instances it would be desirable to be able to produce nitrogen from the effluent of the industrial use.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a system for producing nitrogen which can be economically and effectively integrated with a facility which uses nitrogen for blanketing or other purposes.